Istituto per l'Arte e il Restauro

TRAINING OFFER

Annual Specialization Courses

As a formative institution accredited by the Regione Toscana, our Institute offers two different typologies of professional restoration courses:
• Biennial introductory courses (Qualified Technician)
• Annual specializing courses (Expert Technician)
The award of the qualification of Collaborator Restorer, according to the art. 182 of the Italian Code of Cultural Heritage, is granted to candidates who diligently attend and satisfactorily complete the three year courses format.

For the coming academic year 2011-12 the Institute offers the following professional training courses.
1. Restoration of frescoes
2. Restoration of paintings
3. Restoration of ceramic and stone artefacts
Applicants can apply for a direct admission at the second year of the course or at the specialization year which are expected to start within October 2011.

Introduction: the new structure of the Institute professional training courses
In the recent past time Italy introduced many new rules and regulations concerning the restoration sector, as for example the restorer’s list, the introduction of the didactic credits, the economic support at the external practical internships and the five year degree courses.
For this reason our Institute, decided to promote a new different structure of its professional training restoration courses.
In this sense, starting from the academic year 2011-2012 the biennial courses and the annual specialization course will equip students with a perfect balance of academic and vocational skills with a practical and experienced approach strongly related to the organization of a series of practical sessions in laboratories, external sites and in particular of individual and collective practical restoration internships. Some theoretical sessions will be reduced or cancelled or replaced with meetings, seminars, long distance sessions, researches, individual sessions.
This new educational training structure has been designed with the aim to create an educational policy at the highest European level ensuring the best results in terms of practical didactic activities made in laboratory, restoration sites or internships. All these practical activities will cover a percentage from the 70% to the 82% of the total number of hours, while only the18% will be reserved to the theoretical sessions.

The training structure of the Specialization Year
The Specialization Year is the natural completion of the preliminary basic biennium. The course is intended for all applicants who are in possession of a Biennial certification issued by our Institute or by one of the other Italian recognised institutions. The Specialization Year is also intended for all applicants who are in possession of clear professional experiences, which will be validated through a proper preliminary exam.

The specialization year, doesn’t include any theoretical session but only seminars, workshops and technical meetings. The 90% of the sessions will be delivered through practical works in laboratory, restoration and practical internship sessions.
The first part of the year (October-February) aims at the reaching of the necessary competences for conducting a whole intervention of restoration (from the first draft of the project to the final technical report). All the educational trainings and activities will be carried out under the close supervision of the Institute lecturers.
The second part of the year (March-May) is delivered through a series of individual practical internships which will be made in external previously selected sector firms (400 hours with an Institute contribution to each student of an argent de poche of euro 1.200 ). The European studies show that long individual practical internship sessions are very useful in orienteering students in their job finding activities.
The first half of the month of June will be reserved to studies, researches and close examinations while the second half will be used for the final exams of Expert Technician in Restoration.

The total number of hours included in the study plan (min 810-max 900 hours for each year) includes: theoretical and methodological sessions, laboratory sessions, practical training, guided visit at sector enterprises, conferences and technical meetings, seminars, research and documentation, internal and external practical internship sessions, organisation of restoration sites, collective or individual practical internships or activities, intermediate checking and evaluation, orienteering and job placement activities.

All the educational trainings and restoration practical activities delivered in the premises of Florence are carried out on original cultural heritage artefacts and are organised under the didactic and professional supervision of the sector lecturers on the respect of the competent Superintendence guidelines.

According to the Regional Law n. 845 of 21st 12 1978, Regione Toscana organised the regional vocational training by means of a series of rules and regulations based on the European regulations and on the agreements with the Italian state. Our Institute is part of the Regional training system which recognised its courses from 1980 (Act n. 1881 of 12th.06.1980 and subsequent until the current Act no. 2095 of the 23rd June 2010, valid for all the courses which will start in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012). The acknowledgements were granted by the Province of Florence due to the art. 17 comma 1 lett.b of the L.R. 32/2002 The Institute is accredited by the Regione Toscana under Law nr. 1722 of the 25th day of the month of March 2003. Accreditation code nr. 545. .

The professional qualification, as issued by a country delegated by the Italian State, according to the National law n. 845 of the 21.12.1978, is valid in all the national territory.
It i salso valid in all the European countries accordino to the regulations included in the SG general rystem of validation, ruled by the articles (89/48/CEE and 92/51/CEE), changed through the article no. 2001/19/CE. For more detailed information please visit the Website: http://ec.europa.eu

Applicants who hasn’t yet filed the admission request can contact for more detailed information, the Institute General Direction at the following email address Institute GeneralDirection.